Media for Climate Justice

Media Campaign for climate justice Media campaign for climate justice Compilation of monographs from the 2015-16 media project of Pipal Tree Contributors Akhilesh Chipli | Arun Nedunchezhian | Dr. Ganesh Hegde | Jamsheena Mullappatt | V. Kirubhanandhini | Lingaraja Venkatesh | Nabeel C.K.M | Rama S. Arakalagud | Rekha Sampath Translators Nakkeeran | Divya Sharma | Saritha S Balan |M. Mahadevan | Louis Figaredo Editors Nakkeeran | Divya Sharma | Saritha S Balan | Suresh Mathew | Marika Straw Coordination Oamjie John Design and layout Ananda Siddhartha Cover Picture Nabeel C.K.M, Rama S. Arakalagud Published by Fireflies Intercultural Centre, Dinnepalya, Kaggalipura Post Bangalore - 560 082 India | Phone: +91-80-28432725 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pipaltree.org.in | www.climatesouthasia.org December 2016 Contents Page no. Building sustainable futures... i Climate Change and Dairy Farming 1 Dr Ganesh Hegde Global Warming and Groundnut Cultivation 9 Rama S. Arakalgud Climate change and its effects on the agricultural 15 economy in Villuppuram District Arun Nedunchezhian Mining and Climate Change As Experienced by the Pollution ‘Model’ of Ambalavayal 24 Nabeel C.K.M Forest Rights and Climate Change 34 Akhilesh Chipli Hosakerehalli Lake Rejuvenation 40 Rekha Sampath Story of a Wetland 47 Jamsheena Mullappatt Climate Change and The Destruction of the Reed Beds 52 Lingaraja Venkatesh Building sustainable futures… edia coverage on climate change especially the regional languages media, have Mdeliberations peaked in December a vital role in creating awareness among the 2015 when the Climate Summit hosted by general public and in engaging local governance the United Nations was taking place in Paris. institutions and policy makers to take actions. The conference was attended by 195 countries Hence a wide range of platforms including with around 150 world leaders and dignitaries. newspapers, television, subject-specific Many countries, including India, have pledged magazines, social media and online portals are ambitious targets for climate change mitigation used in this communication campaign. and adaptation strategies. This release is a compilation of articles One of the major decisions taken at the Paris written and published by eight freelance Summit was to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C writers from the three South Indian states as against 2°Cagreed upon in the Copenhagen of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala for accord. However, this decision has been the program year 2015-2016. The articles challenged by many climate change scientists. compiled in this release provide insights into Their argument is based on the current global the causes and impacts of climate change on scenario and the fifth assessment report of the various ecosystems ranging from semi-arid, IPCC that states that the likelihood of keeping urban, coastal, wetland, mountain and river. temperature rise below 2°C and the global They also discuss mitigation and adaptation concentration of CO2 at 450 ppm is virtually strategies. The following is a brief summary of impossible. each article in this release: The political glamour associated with the Dr. Ganesh Hegde, Regional Research ambitious global mitigation strategies were Officer at the Institute of Animal Health and hailed in the media. But deeper questions with Veterinary Biologicals and freelance writer regard to climate justice went unaddressed from Sirsi, Karnataka, in his monograph titled, and sidelined. Even to achieve the global Climate Change and Diary Farming, writes mitigation promises the governments have to on the effect of climate change on animal pay attention to the changes in microclimate, husbandry in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada. According which often results in disturbances of the local to Dr. Ganesh Hegde the sharp decline in the ecosystems. number of cattle in this area is primarily due The objective of Pipal Tree’s communication to the high cost of fodder, scarcity of labour campaign is hence to study, document and and lack of grazing grounds. He observes that disseminate understanding about the causes climate change and its related effects in the and impact of climate change, and potential availability and cultivation of cattle fodder mitigation and adaptation measures, from have directly affected the landless, the small a regional ecosystem perspective. The and marginal farmers. Dr. Ganesh believes communication campaign engages freelance that by adopting some strict measures such writers, short filmmakers, social researchers as fodder management, choice of suitable and activists to produce and disseminate articles breeds, water management and cross breeding and short films to expose the severity of issues of cattle, along with favourable changes in the the climate-dependent and poor communities policy, farmers can remain unaffected by the face in the wake of changing patterns in climate, threat posed by climate change. and to call attention to sustainable mitigation Rama S. Arakalagudu, a freelance writer and adaptation measures experimented and from the Chitradurga district in Karnataka, has integrated by these communities. in her article, Global Warming and Groundnut Pipal Tree believes that the media in India, Cultivation, presented a bleak picture of Page i groundnut farmers arising from the recent the ecological and climate change impacts of climatic events of erratic rains and temperature quarry mining. In his article titled, Mining rise. Temperatures above 350C are detrimental and Climate Change As Experienced by the to the survival of the crop. The best suited Pollution ‘Model’ of Ambalavayal, he portrays temperature for groundnut cultivation is 250C the dismal picture of devastation due to to 300C. In her case study on groundnut farmers illegal quarrying and its nexus with political in Chitradurga, a drought-prone district, she power and might that has led to large-scale narrates the transition of farming methods corruption. This, he states, would eventually from age-old methods of multicropping to high lead to the demise of a village community and input chemical farming and monocropping. a rich ecosystem. She observes that soil degradation, decreased He comments on the lack of insight productivity and increasing cost of input in development planning and luxurious coupled with erratic rains and temperature lifestyles. This scenario coupled with greed rise have led to groundnut farming becoming and conspicuous consumption have wounded unviable. Wayanad. He alleges that rampant tourism This has given rise to a large number of farmers has destroyed the forests and grass-covered migrating to cities. However, she believes that hillocks. Due to increased construction by changing cultivation practices by adopting activities, bio resources have been depleted organic farming and crop diversification, these and have flowed out of the district. This farmers can regain the fertility of the soil and includes timber and granite moving to different acquire climate resilience. parts of the country for meeting the needs of Arun Nedunchezhian, a freelance writer accelerated development. Mega construction from Tamil Nadu in his article titled, Climate projects are implemented without taking into change and its effects on the agricultural account the geographical uniqueness of the economy in Villuppuram district, writes about region. The denuding of its forests and Ghats the impact of climate change in the agriculture has severely affected the ecosystem which had sectorand the resultant climate injustice faced evolved over centuries to its present richness. by the farmers. His article is aimed at creating awareness on He observes that living with a very low how the greed of a few could lead to large- income and without any social security, the scale ecological destruction and could in turn people of this district have been forced to adapt aggravate climate change. themselves to failed monsoons and drought- In his article titled, Forest Rights and Climate like situations. Change, Akilesh Chipli, a freelance writer from Arun refers to a study titled 'Crop insurance Sagar in the Shimoga district of Karnataka, to suit climates and to adapt to climate change' examines how the Forest Rights Act, which was a which particularly points out that the northeast step towards positive affirmation of the rights of district of Villuppuram faces a higher impact indigenous communities of Shimoga, had been from climate change than the delta region. The misused by several mainstream communities. writer also narrates the adaptation techniques This has led to increased destruction of forest practiced by thefarmers in the region such cover, affecting the forest ecosystem and the as strip crop farming, alternate crops and microclimate. The encroachment of the forest diversification of income sources, reducing and subsequent deforestation has created the use of fertilisers and experimenting with thousands of hectares of treeless forestland. alternate strategies for water management in Akhilesh states “On one hand, we are reducing order to combat the impacts of climate change. the trees which absorb carbon dioxide and on Nabeel C K M, a freelance writer from the other hand we have increased the emission Kerala, spent a week in the Ambalavayal of carbon dioxide." According to the community region in Wayanad district of Kerala to study in Sagar, there is considerable reduction in Page ii rainfall in the region. He believes that through a sharp decrease in the availability of fish. The rectifying the loopholes

Load more